108 Divya-deshams: Therazhunthur

BY: SUN STAFF

Therazhunthur

Dec 31, 2023 — CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

The Devaadi Raja Perumal temple (also called Amaruviappan temple) resides in Therazhundur, a village in the Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu. Lord Vishnu is worshipped here as Amaruviappan, with His consort Lakshmi as Sengamalavalli Thayar. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham as one of the 108 Divya Desams.

This temple also glorifies the pastime of Lord Brahma driving the cattle belonging to Sri Krishna. Realising that the herd belonged to Krishna, Brahma apologized and released the cattle. The presiding Deity here is called Amaruviappan (the one who is flanked by cattle), and the deity in the sanctum is portrayed with cattle surrounding him.

The original structure of the temple was built by the Karikala Chola during the 1st century CE, with later additions from the Cholas during the 11th century. A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. The temple tank is located opposite to the temple, outside the main entrance.

Therazhunthur Temple Tank

According to the temple's sthala purana, Uparichara Vasu, a king, obtained boons from Lord Brahma after severe penance for years, enabling him to fly with his chariot. While flying over this place, the king's chariot (ther) fell into the waters below and splashed the sage Agastya, who was doing penance. The chariot became stuck and thus the place became known as Theranzhundur (where the chariot got immersed). It is also said that king Uparichara Vasu ruled in favour of the celestial deities against the sages, and the sages cursed his chariot, causing it to be stuck in place.

The temple has a five-tiered rajagopuram, the gateway tower that pierces the granite concentric walls. The central shrine houses the image of Devadi Raja Perumal in standing posture surrounded by cattle and sages. The festival deity Amaruviappan, resides under the Garuda Vimanam.

There is a separate shrine of Sengamalavalli (Laksmi Devi) in the second precinct. There are separate shrines for Lord Narasimha, Lord Rama, Vishvaksena, Hanuman, Agastya, and the Alvars. Adishesha, Surya Prabhai, Indra Vimanam, horse and elephant are the mounts used for Amaruviappan. Mounts used for the Lord's consort are the yali, swan, elephant, and lion.

The sub-temples of this shrine are Govindarajar temple. There are two water bodies associated with the temple along with the holy river Kaveri, namely Darsa Pushkarani located in front of the temple and Gajendra Pushkarani in the northern side.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the temple finds mention in several works like 108 Tirupathi Anthathi by Divya Kavi Pillai Perumal Aiyangar. The temple is also one of the Pancha Krishnaranaya Kshetrams, the five divine places for Krishna.

Wiki CC 4.0

The Sun News Editorials Features Sun Blogs Classifieds Events Recipes PodCasts

About Submit an Article Contact Us Advertise HareKrsna.com

Copyright 2005, 2023, HareKrsna.com. All rights reserved.